60 J : > .i . ð my . f A-.r dier said, "but after all, how do we know who you are ? We got no time for Ayrabs or casual strollers." We showed our identification cards and the soldier, looking at mine, said, "Huh, a Lands- mann! I'm from New York, too. Four- teent' Street and Avenue A. I wish I was dere now. At a movie, wit' my shoes off." Then they had to start shooting again. We walked back toward the half-track, which we knew, because of its hIgh radio antenna, was a command vehicle. The officer who had shouted to the gunners was a square-faced, fair-haired major named Burba. He was executive officer of the battalion and had been in com- mand of the two batteries since his C.O., a lieutenant colonel, had been wounded. He was from McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a cool, methodical officer who looked as if he had definite information about everything, so I asked him what his battery was shooting at. "Enen1Y guns in a grove of trees hack of Sened," he said. "We think their infantry has pulled out of the town aI- d " rea y. I asked him what range he was firing at and he said five thousand yards. "I have one battery here," he said, "and another over about a mile to the right and slightly forward-you can see them over there," and he pointed. "Every fifth shell we fire is a smoke shell, so we can see where we're hitting, and the fire of the two batteries is converging on the grove of trees. When we get all our fire together and just right, we'll come down on then1 and that will be the end of the battle.)) "Where's our infantry?" I asked in a careless tone. I could not see any troops out in front of us. "There are two battalions in echelon in those two olive groves to the right and forward of the other battery," Bur- ba said, pointing again. "When we've knocked out all resistance, they will go forward and occupy the town. Or may- be the tanks will get there first." The tanks, as a matter of fact, were in the process of trying to get to the town before the infantry. They were crawling down from the southern side of the ridge, where my colleague and I had already seen them, and moving out in front of the 1 05's, looking like a file of mechanical toys that a street ped- dler wInds up and sets down on a side- walk. When they had deployed before us, they turned left and moved on to- ward the town. They must have been a couple of thousand yards ahead of us when something began kicking up dust and smoke, sometimes in front of them ,""<# ' ,", gr ,...,;::.;.,.,; '::"'Ù ;, I , ,>.' ;J '.:::..:: :,: ...::: : :.,..:: '"" i; :", : ...'.:..: it: ::: Yo ; ; :-..;":= .::= ......,...-,'.. ........ . :: ..., ':, .-'. r:W1 ,:::" W ", ,: 'fiiA 'jff,:IJ1 ì ': f ;' ",i? .41 ty! '<%. 1 ;"-' ';1 ! :. " :,',< :::,:: '!'t" ,.. WOR.TH " ,,-:';', \t " '1 ' ) '.% '1 :...'" . ..:' (JwJt ) hi A;.. awt !